Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Conundrum

Ever since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Ultra-Orthodox community,
commonly referred to as the haredi community, has received very special concessions from the government
of Israel. Haredim (plural of haredi), a Hebrew expression meaning “trembling before God”, are projected
to grow to 18 percent of Israel’s population by 2030, from 11 percent in 2010.

Many Israelis have long bridled over the state privileges handed to the haredim.
Non-haredi Israelis complained vociferously about the facts that: haredis weren’t obligated to perform military
service; didn’t work and therefore paid no taxes; received government welfare because they were unemployed; and
were encouraged to raise large families, at taxpayers’ expense, since their welfare checks increased with every
child they had.

But, changing the so-called secular-religious status quo in Israel carried significant
political risk for coalition governments, which had to rely on the support of Ultra-Orthodox partners to stay in
power.[1] In 2012-2013, it appeared that Ultra-Orthodox political
power in Israel was finally on the wane.

In January 2013, Israel held national elections that resulted in a government which, for
the first time in many years, did not include the party of the Ultra-Orthodox. At the forefront of this election
was the hugely culturally contentious issue of abolishing the historical exemption of Ultra-Orthodox Jews from the
draft that allowed them to pursue religious education.

In 2014, the Israeli government abolished the 65-year-old legislation that exempted the
Ultra-Orthodox from mandatory service in the IDF in an attempt to bring together a more secular society, thus
leading to fresh tensions between the government and the Ultra-Orthodox religious group.
[2]]

Many ultra-Orthodox were opposed to haredi men serving in the IDF and, in some cases,
ultra-Orthodox extremists even attacked haredi soldiers as noted in the following report. “. . . {T}hree Haredi
soldiers were attacked in broad daylight in the heart of Jerusalem by Haredi hooligans . . .
“One of the soldiers was on his way to {an in-depth orthodox religious lecture} in the
Meah Shearim neighborhood {an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood} when he was attacked and had to be rescued
by special police units operating in the area. . . .
“Several Haredi soldiers told reporters . . . how the violent reactions to their IDF
uniforms had necessitated changing into civilian clothing when traveling on trains; others said they could not
return to their homes and were forced to spend Shabbat {the Jewish Sabbath} in hostels that cater to
Haredi soldiers considered outcasts by their families.” ((Ref. 3))

Many, if not most, Israelis were outraged at the viciousness of the haredi opposition
to the Ultra-Orthodox serving in the IDF. As one Israeli Holocaust survivor was quoted as saying: “How can anyone
utter these words and go on living with himself? It takes a lot of chutzpah to live in Israel under the protection
of Hashem {God} and His emissaries, the IDF soldiers, and instead of being grateful, throw stones and
resort to vicious name-calling.” (Ref. 4)

However, “In late April {2015}, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively reversed
{the} law to impose jail time on members of the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi community who dodge the draft.
. . .
“The reversal {of the short-lived law} was one condition of a deal the prime minister
forged with United Torah Judaism to bring the Haredi political party into the governing coalition he was attempting
to assemble . . . following Israeli elections in March. Netanyahu’s concession is a symbol of renewed Haredi power
in the new Israeli government . . .” (Ref. 5)

The ultra-Orthodox have historically shown a dictatorial readiness to impose strict
regulations on their own communities as well as on anyone coming into contact with their members. In the town
of Beit Shemesh and elsewhere across the country, some Ultra-Orthodox Jews have tried to impose a kind of communal
piety—a strict code of behavior that includes gender segregation on buses, with men in the front and women in
the back. For most Israelis, this zealousness is off-putting. Founded by secular Jews who envisaged a modern,
egalitarian state, Israel has all the trappings of a liberal society: progressive laws and cutting-edge
universities, women in bikinis and women in business and politics. But it also has an entrenched ultra-Orthodox
community that has historically shunned modernity and views the world through the eyes of 19th and 18th century
European Judaism.[6]

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have been extremely resistant to change. They dress in the same
outfits as their 19th-century forebears—dark suits, frock coats, and wide-brimmed hats. And they hew fastidiously
to practices that were laid out in texts thousands of years ago.[6]

As of 2013, most ultra-Orthodox Jews lacked the skills to work in a modern economy,
having studied little or no math and science beyond primary school (their curriculum focused almost entirely on
religious texts such as the Torah and Talmud). As a result, more than 60% were living below the poverty line,
compared with 12% among non-Haredi Jews. Haredi men were on a path that proved hard to reroute: instead of
employment, they engaged in lifelong Torah study and received support from the dole. According to labor surveys,
some 65% of working-age men in the Ultra-Orthodox community didn’t have jobs and didn’t want them, preferring to
spend their days in the seminary. The cities in which they lived in were some of the poorest in the
country.[6]

The net effect as the haredi community expanded was that the burdens of taxation and
conscription fell on fewer and fewer Israelis. Secular Israelis joked that 1/3 of the country served in the
military, 1/3 participated in the workforce, and 1/3 paid taxes - but it was the same 1/3 of the country that
fulfilled these obligations.[6]

In some parts of the haredi community, terrorist type violence has appeared. A small
minority of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist have taken to murdering Palestinians as well as other Jews who do not
live in conformity with their rules and principles. In 2015, the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and
Fish in Tabgha was heavily damaged by an arson attack and a passage from a Jewish prayer, calling for the
elimination of idol worship, was found scrawled in red spray paint on a wall outside the church. Israeli police
quickly arrested 16 Jewish settler youths who were suspected of involvement in the attack. The youths arrested
were all religious Jewish seminary students from West Bank settlements.[7] Such attacks are widely condemned throughout the entire nation, including the vast majority of
the ultra-Orthodox.

In an unprecedented action, the Chief Rabbis of Israel placed a massive ad on the front
page of the Jerusalem Post on August 4, 2015 strongly condemning the then recent violence in the country. The
advertisement which condemned violence against both Jews and non-Jews, was also published in Hebrew in Israel’s
other major papers. The move came less than a week after unrest following the killing of a Palestinian child,
and the fatal stabbing attack at Jerusalem’s Gay Pride parade.

Are Changes Coming?

After Israel’s 2013 elections, changes began to appear for the haredi community. One of the
new government’s top priorities was the easing of the ultra-Orthodox drag on the economy.

Because the haredi value full-time study above any paid occupation and rejects Israel’s
obligatory military service, many of their men have remained outside mainstream Israeli society. Only about
46 percent of working-age men in the community were employed in 2011, the most recent year available, compared with
78 percent for all Israeli adult males. [8]

“Income comes from government stipends, charity and, in many cases, a working wife. Unlike
men, some haredi women are educated in work-oriented fields such as teaching and software programming after they
get 12 years of religious and secular education. - - -
“The opportunity to overcome entrenched political opposition to getting more haredi men
into the labor force arose after elections {in 2013}. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was able to form a
government without two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, that had been part of almost every
ruling coalition for the {previous} 30 years. - - -
“Facing budgetary pressures, the government . . . also cut child allowances that had
helped support many large families in the community, increasing the economic incentive for haredi men to start
making a livelihood. - - -
“The Economy Ministry {also} earmarked 500 million shekels ($143 million) over . . . five
years for programs to give haredi men the needed skills {to enter the workforce}.
“Included {were} programs to offer vocational training, job placement services and
employment counseling. . . . - - -
“Even with the new vocational tools, cultural impediments may discourage some employers
from hiring haredi men. Companies may have to take into account kosher dietary laws in cafeterias and requests for
time set aside for daily prayers, as well as traditions of modesty that discourage associating with any members of
the opposite sex outside their families.” (Ref. 8)

In one recent example of the ongoing change process, “Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft
Corp., and Alphabet Inc. are among companies supporting a venture backed by the U.S. government and private money
that is aimed at getting more ultra-Orthodox Jews into Israel’s burgeoning technology industry. It’s reported that
today there are at least 6,000 haredi engineers in Israel, from almost zero three years ago.[9]

“Israel’s tech industry is investing in haredi men and women to help fill a gap of
qualified software engineers, as the country experiences a tech slowdown brought by almost 10,000 vacant posts for
such roles.” (Ref. 9)

There is growing evidence that at least a segment of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox community
is changing (for the better). “Younger haredim, while remaining passionately committed to orthodox Judaism, are
increasingly rejecting their rabbinic leadership’s hardline positions on numerous issues, including work, army
service, academic study, and communal isolation.
“. . . Officially, the rabbinic leadership still holds that men should study Torah
full-time. But the proportion of haredi men entering the workforce is rising steadily, and last year
{2015} it exceeded 50 percent for the first time since Israel started tracking the data. It’s now 51.2 percent,
and the government hopes to raise it to 63 percent by 2020. [Emphasis mine]
“As for haredi women, {l}ast year, 73.1 percent of haredi women worked, up from
61.5 percent just five years earlier; that’s already far above the government’s target of 63 percent by
2020. [Emphasis mine] - - -
“On education, the change is equally dramatic. Not only did the number of haredim
in college jump from 2011-2015 by 83 percent, to 11,000, but attitudes toward secular studies in high schools are
also changing. [Emphasis mine] - - -
“. . . {A} new survey . . . found 83 percent of haredi parents would like their sons to
attend high schools that teach secular subjects alongside religious ones, as haredi girls’ schools already do. - - -
“On army service, too, change is apparent. In 2014, 2,280 haredim enlisted – about
one-third the number that would have enlisted if all haredi men joined the army at 18. And in some places, the
numbers are higher. . . .
“Moreover, the stigma against army service is rapidly crumbling. . . . {U}ntil last
month, Israel’s highest rabbinical court had never included a judge who served in the army. But following last
month’s round of appointments, fully half its judges are now veterans, including two Sephardi haredim and one
Ashkenazi haredi. . . .
“. . . Army service no longer disqualifies haredim for prominent rabbinical positions.
. . .
“Admittedly. These changes in haredi society won’t lead to changes in attitude at the top
anytime soon. The leading haredi rabbis are in their nineties, and their replacements will be men of similar age.
In other words, they are products of a very different world – one where the Holocaust had wiped out most of
European Jewry, where Israel’s army and school system actively sought to create ‘new Jews’ in the mold of the
ruling secular elite, where rebuilding the Torah world was the overriding imperative, and where isolation from
secular knowledge and secular society was deemed essential for achieving this goal. This is the worldview they
imbibed in their formative years, and they won’t abandon it in their old age.
“But younger haredim grew up in a very different world – one where Torah study is
flourishing, the religious population is growing, and the state institutions from the army to the universities
now welcome haredim without trying to make them stop being haredi. . . .
“Bottom-up change is usually slower than the top-down version, but it also tends to be
more lasting. . . . Developments in haredi society as a whole actually provide strong grounds for
optimism.” [Emphasis mine] (Ref. 10)

In yet one more illustration of changes taking place within the haredi community, in
early 2015, Israel's first political party created by ultra-Orthodox Jewish women was running a “novel campaign
for parliament: no media ads or endorsements by key rabbinical authorities, just word-of-mouth recommendations
and faith.
“Yet the fact that women in the Haredi sect are running at all is historic and radical
for a community where politics — and decision-making — are traditionally left to the menfolk. - - -
“. . . {The party is} called Bezchutan: Haredi Women Making Change. They're demanding
that the government — and their own rabbis — provide Haredi women with the same rights and benefits as other
Israeli women. - - -
“The party's supporters say it is brave step forward in a society where rabbis prohibit
their community members from owning a TV or surfing the Internet, and where women — usually the breadwinners while
their husbands focus on religious learning — are expected to keep a low public profile.” (Ref. 11)

As Bob Dylan wrote and sang back in 1962,

The order is rapidly fadin’,
And the first one now will later be last,
For the times they are a-changin’
[12]

It would appear that his lyrics now apply to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox
community.